Under the Kudzu

Browntown Rosenwald school in Scott's Hill, NC (African-American school built 1926-1927) photo by Claudia Stack

 ALL TEXT AND IMAGES (EXCEPT WHERE OTHERWISE NOTED) ON THIS SITE ARE COPYRIGHT CLAUDIA STACK AND MAY NOT BE USED WITHOUT PERMISSION

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New! View video segments of the Nov. 2009 Rosenwald History Awareness Conference- Go to UNCW TV and scroll down to "Original Programming"

New! Under the Kudzu film project featured on the Harvard Graduate School of Education website 

Nov.13th Rosenwald School History Awareness Conference 

From left to right:  Dr. Monica Gisolfi, UNCW Department of History (moderator), Carrie Newkirk, Mary Faison, William Jordan, Augusta Johnson, James Faison, Betty Thompson

Share photographs and documents with the new UNCW Randall Library Rosenwald School Archive: contact Jerry Parnell at (910) 962-3276 or parnellg@uncw.edu

View Nov.24th, 2009 Star News article about new UNCW Rosenwald Archive

Partnership with Historic Wilmington Foundation: You can make a tax-deductible donation to HWF to support the Under the Kudzu film project

Link to the UNC Archives post by Elizabeth Hull about photographs taken by Hugh Morton of SC Anderson, who taught for almost 50 years at the Pender County Training School

Link to WHQR's story on Rosenwald schools and the Under the Kudzu film project.

 Link to Claudia Stack's editorial "Symbols of Sacrifice," which is about the importance of preserving Rosenwald school history.

"Seeing it in Color: Remembering the Canetuck Rosenwald School", directed by Claudia Stack, was an official selection of the 2009 Cine Noir Film Festival

  Rhonda Bellamy, Cine Noir Festival Director, introduces Claudia Stack

To arrange for film showings and talks, please email Claudia Stack

Under the Kudzu film: Mission Statement

To create a feature-length documentary focused on two schools that were typical of the Rosenwald school movement.  Under the Kudzu is the name of a film centered on two Rosenwald schools in Pender County, North Carolina. Rosenwald schools were African American schools built during segregation by communities who used matching grant funds and building plans provided by the Rosenwald Fund.  Over 5,000 school buildings were built between 1917 and 1932.  During that era African American communities in North Carolina organized to build 813 Rosenwald schools, the highest number of any state. The movement was particularly strong in Southeastern North Carolina, where Pender County is located.  Under the Kudzu traces the history of the Canetuck Rosenwald School , a primary school, and the Pender County Training School, a high school.

The goals of Under the Kudzu include:

• Examining the social setting in which the schools were built
• Commemorating the dedication of all of those, black and white, who contributed to the schools
• Documenting oral history of alumni and teachers
• Recalling the use of music, recitation and dramatic performance as integral parts of instructional practice
• Demonstrating how the Rosenwald school plans, an expression of Progressive architecture, affected both the students’ experience and the larger community
• Exploring the role of devotional practices, which were common in both African American and white schools of that era

Under the Kudzu film: Vision Statement

That the film shall be broadcast nationally, in order to raise awareness of an important chapter in American history that has largely receded from public memory.  That the film shall be viewed in educational settings to help students and teachers alike appreciate the long tradition of familial support for education in African American communities.  That school administrators, teachers, and parents will use it as a basis for discussion, as some of the characteristics of Rosenwald schools can help us meet today’s educational challenges. That the film will inspire the preservation of one or more of the Pender County Rosenwald schools that survive, and also inspire people in other North Carolina counties and other states to document and preserve Rosenwald school history.

Background Information

African American communities in Pender County organized to build 19 buildings (five of them at the Pender County Training School) on 15 school sites with assistance from the Rosenwald Fund between 1917 and 1929.  Through enormous sacrifice and determination, these communities often provided 25% or more of the cost of the Rosenwald facilities.   Although the dollar amounts varied, the communities frequently also donated the land and much of the labor for the school.  The combination of the community donation and the Rosenwald contribution acted as leverage for local school boards to provide the rest of the funds, and to commit to operating the schools.

Rosenwald schools in Pender County were built during the same era that local government used bond money to fund six brick schools for white students. A seventh, the Penderlea school, was built by the federal government and later transferred to Pender County. Despite the fact that the wooden Rosenwald schools were a step behind white facilities, they represented an enormous advance in African American school facilities, and communities were justifiably proud of the schools and teachers. 

The Pender County school superintendent during this period, Thurman Tate Murphy, was a strong supporter of African American education.  It is likely that the Rosenwald movement would not have been as successful in Pender County without his influence.   

Unlike many more affluent North Carolina counties, Pender County continued to use several of its Rosenwald school buildings into the 1960s.

For more information on the Rosenwald school movement, see the Links page at the upper right.

Long-Creek Grady school, Long Creek, NC (white school built 1924) photo by Claudia Stack

About Under the Kudzu

How You Can Help

If you attended school in Pender County prior to 1975, you can contact us to set up an interview so that your memories and experiences may be preserved.  Each person's recollections contribute to a more accurate picture of school history in Pender, and each person's experiences and opinions are important.  Please be aware that it may take some time to set up an interview, as there is only one interview team working at this time.

If you have pictures of schools and/or students from that era, or documents such as graduation programs, awards, etc. they can be scanned (reproduced) so that you keep the original photo or momento.   We are especially seeking vintage photos of schools and/or students, however, any documents (even letters or postcards) that mention Pender County schools are worth archiving.

Please email Claudia

  claudia@underthekudzu.org

if you would like to be interviewed, and/or if you have photos and/or documents to share.